I really like to shoot photos in the water. It is such a pain in the ass and also incredibly rewarding. Lots of fun and this class was great!
This class was taught by my friend Dawn Handley and I was really glad I could just tread water when I wanted vs the hour the class participants went though – Hard Work!
Some of the “real” cyclists in Portland, Oregon will say it is always bicycle season here and while that is true, in my opinion, it is always nicer to ride on a sunny spring day. This bike is ready for any weather the Pacific Northwest can throw at it or drop on it. I’m very fortunate to be friends with Mark Duff, owner of Veloforma. Mark makes very awesome carbon fiber bicycle frames. I photographed his frame sets for the 2012 season and several weeks ago I shot the first frame for the 2013 season, a really sweet road frame.
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2013 Veloforma Strada SLR (with a custom paint job):
My neighbor, Matt, helped me out a few months ago with a major landscaping project. As a thanks and because it was a fun thing to do, I photographed an awesome bag and some accessories he is producing here in Portland, Oregon. His label is Blank Brand Bags and you should check them out. Here are a couple shots of the bag in white (he now has black as well, but I haven’t photographed it yet) and the little leather card wallets (these things are pretty slick with slots on opposite sides).
After I shot these photos for my buddy Henry Barrera, he asked me to shoot some photos and video of one of his basketball skills camps. I had a great time photographing some of the best high school boys and girls players from the Portland Metro Area. Here are some images from a Saturday, last October:
This photo of the girls was selected as a featured image on Photoshelter’s main site last month.
Quickness
Resistance
Agility
Footwork
Speed
Drive!
So my friend Henry Barrera plays basketball and teaches trains ballers in Speed, Power, Agility, Responsiveness, and Quickness. He runs Hoop Diaries and he needed some promo photos and some graphic design work and asked for my help. I haven’t “played” basketball in at least 10 years and haven’t ever photographed it before AND I think I did pretty good. The goal of the images was to show some of the skills training Henry is so good at and also give a sense of his speed (he is one speedy dude).
Bounce the basketball from one hand to the other while simultaneously switching hands holding the tennis ball.
You have to earn every step.
This is how the front of the promo cards turned out (I did the design work too).
“Thanks for the fun and adventure and the great place to stay. Now I need you to leave so I can photograph the place.” I could say that I traded a photography for a place to stay, but that isn’t really true. My friends M & T invited my wife and I to join them in Hawaii for two weeks and of course we said, “yes”. They had recently had their condo painted and new carpet installed and because I have just enough skill as a photographer to push a shutter button, I photographed their condo for the rental website as a thank you. It is a great place on the Big Island if you are looking for a place to rent.
I haven’t shot a lot of interiors, but I am happy with how these turned out.
Living Room With a View
Once we put the SCUBA stuff away, it looked awesome.
This table also doubles as an office if need be. I’ve seen it in practice and you might as well work in Hawaii if you have to work someplace.
Alternate Title: “There is water at the bottom of the ocean” – Talking Heads
My wife and I joined our fantastic friends, Mark and Tracy, for a couple of weeks on the Big Island, Hawaii in mid September. We did this same trip a couple of years ago with lots of snorkeling and scuba diving. And while I jealously watched my buddy Mark film video – his camera safe in its underwater housing – my Nikon was locked in the car for shooting the sunsets and palm trees and volcanoes and turtles on the beach. But not on this trip. This time I had an Ikelite underwater housing for my D90 and two underwater strobes. I was going all-in and make those fish photos look awesome (at least tons better than the disposable point-and-shoot I had used two years ago).
Needless to say, there is a bit of a learning curve to using your camera underwater that is stuck inside a plastic box, while remembering to also breathe and float and nor to get left behind or leave someone behind (sorry about that sweetie, but it was an eel). And while I’m no Joshua Lambus, I feel I did OK in the deeps (and shallows).
White Mouth Moray Eel
Raccoon Butterfly Fish
And as much as I really enjoyed taking photos of fish, I prefer my photos with people a bit more.
@TigerSharkVid free diving for a shot
The KW with the Raccoon Butterfly Fish
Photographing turtles and dolphins is also very awesome.
Green Sea Turtle – @ Two Step
This Spinner Dolphin was so very close and my 17 – 50mm lens got stuck in the housing at 50mm.
Back in September I was asked to photograph pairs of Nike employees who volunteer as Big Brothers and Big Sisters and their Littles with three goals in mind:
This is my first video, shot and edited by yours truly. My very good friend and part-time underwater cinematographer, Mark Oronzio, sending Flying Squirrel – V6 at the Carver Bridge Cliff near Portland, Oregon (they filmed some scenes for the 1st Twilight movie here). Goes to show he works well on land or underwater. Check out his work at Tiger Shark Productions, some of his footage is in the new documentary, A Fall From Freedom.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the boulders at the Carver Bridge Cliff, please take a look at the Carver Bouldering Blog.
My wife is hosting a hair cutting party – long story – and asked me to do the invite to send to some of her girlfriends. The title for the party is CHOP CHOP SNIP SNIP BUZZ BUZZ. Here’s the photo I shot this morning at 6:30 a.m.
Before I started my sabbatical 3 weeks ago, I shot some other fun photos for work. The photo was used for a Wellness Center promotion called Picture Yourself Healthy. I created the photo frames and the faux Polaroid in Illustrator and then rigged a clothesline in my cube at work. As people send in photos of themselves making healthy choices, their photos will be dropped into the blank frames.
A version with some mock-up photos in the frames (I shot everything except the tomato photo):
Got together with my buddy Mark a couple of weeks ago and while I was unloading the truck to prep for a camping trip to the beach we shot some photos of each other’s ugly mugs. To state the obvious: the photos of Mark I shot and the photos of me Mark shot.
Here’s the overall scene of the garage:
Here are a couple of finished photos (I’m not entirely sure if the “neon” looking edging around us is the chromatic aberration from the Nikon 50mm 1.8 or the blue-gelled softbox behind us. 
And here are a couple looking out of the garage door, sitting on the tailgate:
I’m still doing Tuesday Night Photo shoots/walks with friends as a way to experiment and to be surprised by their randomness. A couple of Tuesdays ago, I was out with Keegan and Mark walking the PDX waterfront in Industrial NW Front (really cool angles and images to me discovered down there).
We went by one of the hip condo buildings that is right on the river and it had a railing with some potential. I know Keegan likes to try things and has some pretty good hops, so I asked him if he could clear the railing. He did not disappoint.
So I’ve shot somethings for work (some images for promoting the climbing gym). While I can’t show you those, I have some others from the same day up at www.blog.blog.www.urbanboyscout.com. At the end of the session, the climbers I was shooting started trying dynos (all points off jumping between holds) in the bouldering cave.
I really like the set of them, but if I had to pick two:
and this one:
And inorder to help me produce new personal work I’ve gotten some friends together of varying abilities. The reasons are several:
1. Shoot photos
2. Try new things
3. Accountability to not only shoot, but edit and post new work
4. Get critiques
5. Drink beer with friends
So we’ve met the last two Tuesday Nights and we’ve made a few frames, mostly of each other right now.
Here is a product shot a friend wanted to try:
Since most of the group isn’t really experienced with flashes, I’ve been setting up the lighting for the shots and then we swap off the Paul C. Buff remote and make our frames. So when a friend suggests something they would like to try, i get to engineer the lights or reverse engineer the lights if they have a specific example. The strawberry shot is based off a photo by PVA_1964.
Equipment used in the photos above: Nikon D90, Paul C. Buff triggers and remotes, Canon 580ex, Vivatar 285h, Honl Speed Grids, Westcott Umbrellas and 28″ Apollo Softbox, and a DYI softbox/strip-light
Got the one sweet basketball shot above and the next one with one 1/4″ Honl Speed Grid on a flash mounted above the basket and aimed straight down and a second flash on a stand just off court to light the players bodies. Both flashes were Vivitar 285HV’s (above the rim 1/2 power; off court [12'] full power.
Here’s an ambient light shot of the action:
And here is one flag football shot and an indoor volleyball shot.
That’s it for now. The weather is starting to get consistently nicer here in the PNW and was able to get a couple of shots last weekend while out bouldering and hope to post those next. But I have to get through shooting various Aqua Exercise and Swim Conditioning classes first.
So this infant blog has been neglected and while I have excuses I wanted to apologize first.
“I’m sorry about the single post that promised so much and delivered so little.”
Here are the reasons, all true and chronological: 1. My wife broke her foot 2. We moved to an new apartment (thanks to everyone who helped – 16 people and we moved out & in in 2 hours) 3. Work got crazy (but I’ve taken some cool photos)
This post is without photos for the simple reason that it is an apology and a restart.
Intramural Sports Photos coming soon.
Writing a first blog post is so weird. How does one really start? My name is Spencer Williams. I am a photographer and I used to update my personal blog, Pop Misery Blog, but haven’t done that since the summer. I also blog about the bouldering at the Carver Bridge Cliff near Portland, OR at the original sounding Carver Bouldering Blog. (I will start to update this blog again soon. It is raining in Portland, Oregon and that makes it hard to write about climbing outside here.)
But this is a new blog and I am going to use this Google sponsored space to show off my pictures and talk about photography. I’m relatively new to the photo world, but I am easily obsessed with a thing and become a voracious learner. I got my first DSLR – a Nikon D40 – just before getting married in 2007. I am currently shooting with the Nikon D90 and having a great time. I also have a full-time job in the Sports & Recreation Industry.
If you have a photo project please contact me through my website, Urban Boy Scout.
I get to shoot some photos for work for various promotions we offer our members. Here are a couple of recent photos for a health promotion that will be starting at the end of January. I have gotten and continue to get a lot of useful info from Strobist and so I will try and include a behind-the-scenes, lighting set-up shot when possible and when I remember.
This first photo doesn’t have a set-up shot, but the block of ice is on a piece of white foamcore and the light is from one Canon 580ex with a 1/8″ Honl Speed Grid about a foot over the block (I am really digging these grids).
The next two photos are from the same shoot as above, but of individual letter blocks on a piece of glass with 3 flashes.
